


Only Temporary

by Revasnaslan



Series: Lavender and Juniberries [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Allura (Voltron), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Shallura Week 2k17, the shallura is only implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 04:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11432721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revasnaslan/pseuds/Revasnaslan
Summary: Following Shiro's disappearance, Allura finds it difficult to sleep... so she and the Black Lion have a chat. About as well as they can without having a bond.—Written for Shallura Week Day 6 (Black / White)





	Only Temporary

**Author's Note:**

> this ended up being less so shallura and more so about the possible bond that allura and the black lion could have...
> 
> i just really like black paladin allura okay?

In the aftermath of losing Shiro, Allura found it much more difficult to sleep—many of her nights were now spent restless, as she wandered the corridors of the castle, lost in her thoughts. She would sometimes find the other paladins up and about—Pidge working in her lab, Hunk down in the kitchens, Keith in the training room, Lance staring at the star charts—but she still felt so very alone. Had she been younger, perhaps she would have sought out Coran for comfort. He had always enjoyed braiding her hair while telling her stories. It had helped put her mind at ease, helped her overcome her nightmares, let her rest easier.

But she was older now—it wouldn’t be the same.

Tonight, she wandered down to the lion bay, long after the lights of the castle had dimmed for the night. Something had drawn her down there, though she wasn’t entirely sure what it was. She didn’t have a bond with any of the lions, even though they were connected to her life force. However, she could feel their presence pushing against her mind, encouraging her to come and see them—she couldn’t distinguish which one was calling the loudest until she actually got down there, though. Their voices seemed to muddle together in her head until the doors to the bay opened.

The Black Lion sat across from her at the opposite end of the bay. Though its particle barrier was active, she could tell that it was the lion that had called to her in the night. Slowly, she made her way past the other lions. As she walked, she still felt the tug of their presence, as a low, encouraging rumble in the back of her mind—it was a small attempt at comforting her, and she managed a soft smile at their efforts.

She craned her head back as she stopped before the Black Lion. It had retreated behind its particle barrier as soon as they had gotten it back inside the castle following the battle with Zarkon—it hadn’t allowed anyone inside the barrier since. Allura assumed that this was the lion’s way of grieving for the loss of its paladin. In her own way, she could relate to its sorrow, as she was sure the rest of the team could. Their victory against Zarkon had been pushed aside, almost forgotten as the loss of Shiro struck a blow to the morale of the team…

The low rumble of the Black Lion was in the back of her mind—clearer now that she was close to it, but still muddled and mostly incomprehensible to her. Still, its presence was comforting, and she felt her shoulders relaxing as she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the particle barrier. She stood there, listening to the ebb and flow of the lion’s purring.

“I miss him too…” she said—her voice was little more than a whisper.

She was surprised when the particle barrier dropped out from underneath her hand and forehead. The Black Lion crouched down before her, catching her gaze as it leaned its head down. It didn’t open its mouth for her, but its eyes flashed in the dim light of the lion bay. Cautiously, Allura approached, lifting a hand to rest it lightly against the lion’s nose. There was the slightest shift as the lion pressed back against her touch.

“You probably miss him even more than I do…” she said.

The Black Lion trilled in the back of her mind—it was a muted sound, but Allura could still hear it. The lion had neither confirmed nor denied what she had just said, but rather had sent her a feeling that she could only describe as _mild disagreement_. Then, the lion stepped away from her, lifting its head up out of her reach as it sat back on its haunches again. Allura stayed in place for a moment, before settling herself on the floor, leaning back against one of the lion’s large metal paws.

She still couldn’t understand exactly what the Black Lion was trying to tell her, but she gathered that it was assuring her that she was allowed to miss Shiro. Had their connection been stronger— _had she been the Black Paladin_ —perhaps she would have understood exactly what the Black Lion was saying. Lightly, she rested a hand atop the lion’s paw—she doubted it was of much comfort, though, as she was little bigger than a _drisiil_ to it.

Sitting in its presence, she was reminded that they still lacked a Black Paladin—not that she had forgotten, really. It was a problem she and the rest of the team had discussed, but the other paladins were so sure that they would find Shiro. While Allura tried to remain optimistic, she also had to prepare for the possibility that they _wouldn’t_ find Shiro—that someone would have to replace him as the Black Paladin, _permanently_ …

Perhaps she had been avoiding the topic because she didn’t want to come to terms with the fact that she had lost him—the lion purred softly in agreement, but did its best to reassure her that everything was going to work out.

“Do you think any of the other paladins would be a suitable replacement?” she asked, looking up at the lion. She felt a little bad for bringing it up, knowing that the Black Lion was grieving, just as she was… but it was something they had to prepare for now. It would do them no good to scramble to find a replacement later.

The Black Lion purred softly in acknowledgment of her question— _a dobosh_ is all she managed to understand from what the lion had just said to her. The lion drew its presence back from her entirely, becoming lost in its own thoughts. She could feel the push of the other lions against her mind, and while their touch was fainter, Allura found it comforting to know that she wasn’t alone. However, as time dragged on, she began fiddling with her robes, unable to sit still.

Then, she felt the press of the Black Lion’s consciousness again—but its response was not what she had thought it was going to say.

“ _Me_?” she questioned, taken aback at the suggestion. “You must be joking—I cannot—could not possibly—”

The lion’s eyes flashed—not angrily, just in an attempt to get her attention—as it growled in the back of her mind again. Allura sighed, and returned to fiddling with her robes.

“I am… honored that you consider me a worthy pilot,” Allura said, “But the bond that you had with Shiro was strong, and he worked hard to make it that way and—”

The lion growled curiously in response, cutting her off— _temporary_ — _out_ there— _find_.

Allura smiled at the words that she understood—it was a small comfort, but if the Black Lion believed that they would find Shiro, then she could agree to just about anything.

“You’re right…” she managed to say through a yawn.

As the lion began purring again, a comforting warmth settled over Allura. They could try a bonding exercise in the morning—she was much too tired to do anything right now, or risk messing it up somehow. The lion understood that, and continued purring until she had fallen asleep. She rested much easier that night than she had before.

**Author's Note:**

>  _drisiil_ is a term i came up with for my multichapter fic, because i needed a small animal that was a bug... so a drisiil is essentially supposed to be an ant or flea-like creature... i kind of envision a durant (as in the pokemon) whenever i try to picture one lol
> 
> tumblr: [revasnaslan](http://revasnaslan.tumblr.com/)  
> beta'd by: [Akumeoi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Akumeoi/pseuds/Akumeoi)


End file.
